Land-roller.



PATENTED FEB. 6, 1906.

W. J. DUNHAM. LAND ROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

2 SHEBTSEET 2.

PATENTED FEB. 6, 1906.

W J DUNHAM LAND ROLLER. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 22. 190

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY),

r s rs Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1906.

Application filed September 22, 1905. Serial No. 279,592. I

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILEY J. DUNIIAM, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Berea, in the county of Cuyahoga and. State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Land-Rollers;and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in. land-rollers.

The object of this invention is to provide a machine of this characterhaving the rollers mounted so that they can move independently in orderthat they may readily aceom modate themselves to the condition of theland. over which the machine is passing, and thereby prevent the machinefrom being illjured by undue strain.

My invention therefore consists in the features of construction and.combination of parts as described in the specification, pointed out inthe claims, and illustrated in the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machineembodying my invention as it appears when traveling over level land.Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing the position assumed by the rollerswhen passing over an elevation. Fig. 3 is a top plan with the yoke whichconnects the side pieces of the draft-frame broken away. Fig. 4: is asection on line 4 4, Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, the machine comprises two independent rollers,each of which consists of two sections 1. and 2, which are rigidlymounted on a shaft or axle 3, so as to leave a small space between theadjacent ends of the sections. Around each of the sections 2 of each ofthe rollers is arranged a rec-' tangular frame 4. Above the f 'ame 4 isarranged the draft-frame, which comprises two side pieces 5, preferablyformed of angle-iron. The side pieces 5 are secured together by means ofa cross-piece or yoke 6, one end of which is fastened at the center ofeach of said side pieces. A bracket 7 is arranged at each end. of eachof the side pieces 6, so as to ex tend downwardly therefrom, and insaid. bracket 7 is formed a horizontal slot 8. The draft-frame issupported on the frames 4 by means of arms or trunnions 9, which extendout from the front and back of said frames near the outer sides thereofand enter the slots Sin the brackets 7. Heads 10 are pref erably formedon the ends of the said trunnions 9 in order to prevent the bracketsfrom slipping oil the ends thereof. A depending arm llis arranged ateach side of the center of each side piece 5. At the front and back nearthe inner end of each of the frames at is secured one end of a link 12,and the other end thereof is secured to the adjacent arm. 11, and. thearrangement is such that when the roller-sections lie .in the same planethe said links will be in a horizontal position. To one of the sidepieces 5 of the draft-frame is secured a draft-bar 15, and on the otherside piece 5 is mounted a seat 16.

The operation of the land-roller is as follows: When the roller istraveling over level ground, the lLTLlIlliiOllS 9 will be about in thecenter of the slots 8 and the links 11 lie in a horizontal position andthe inner ends of the roller-sections will be close together. If theroller is dragged over some unevenness which raises the roller-sectionsat their inner ends, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the draftframewill remain horizontal, and as the inner ends of the roller-sections areraised the links will describe an arc of a circle, drawing therespective roller-sections away from each other at their inner ends andcausing the trunnions to move out in the respective slots 8.

What I claim is- 1. In a land-roller, the combination of rollers, eachroller having a separate shaft, a frame mounted on each of said shaftsof said rollers, a draft-frame, means for forming a slidable connectionbetween the frames of said rollers and said draift-frame and means formechanically causing said rollers to move apart when either or both ofthe rollers are moved. out of a horizontal position.

2. In a land-roller, the combination of rollers, each roller having aseparate and independent shaft, a frame mounted on each of said shaftsof said rollers, a draft-frame, means for forming a slidable connectionbetween saidv frames of said rollers and said draftframe and linkssecurin the inner ends of said. frames of said rollers to saiddraftframe.

3. In a land-roller, the combination of rollers, each roller having aseparate shaft, a frame mounted on each of said shafts, a draftframe,means for forming a slidable connection between said roller -frames andsaid draft frame, arms secured to said. draftframe and links connectingsaid arms and said roller-frames.

4. In a land-roller, the combination of rollers, each roller having aseparate shaft, a frame mounted on each of said shafts, a draftframecomprising two side pieces arranged to extend longitudinally of saidrollers and a cross-bar secured to said side pieces at their centers,and means for mounting said draftframe on said roller-frames.

5. In a land-roller, the combination of a plurality of rollers, eachroller having a separate shaft, a frame mounted on each of said shafts,a draft-frame arranged above said roller-frames, said draft-framecomprising two side pieces secured together by means of a cross-barfastened to the respective side pieces near their centers, means forforming a slidable connection between said draftframe and saidroller-frames and links secured to said draft-frame and to said roller-20 frames.

6. In a land-roller, the combination of rollers, each roller having aseparate shaft, a rectangular frame mounted on each of said shafts,trunnions formed at the front and back of said frames at the outer endsthereof, a draft-frame, arms arranged on said draftframe at the outerends thereof and provided with slots arranged to receive said trunnionson said roller-frames, arms arranged on said draft-frame near the centerthereof and links connecting said last-mentioned arms and the inner endsof said roller-frames, substantially as described and for the purposeset forth.

I11 testimony whereof I sign the foregoing specification in the presenceof two witnesses.

WILEY J. DUNHAM.

Witnesses DANIEL E. DALY, R. E. DUNHAM.

